Advancing Value-Based Health Systems Through Integrated, People-Centred Obesity Care
Author: Lisa Heggie (European Association for the Study of Obesity)
Across Europe, health systems are moving toward more value-based, people-centred models of care. Obesity provides a clear illustration of why this transition is needed. As a chronic, relapsing disease and a gateway to over 200 medical complications, obesity affects nearly every part of the health system. When services are fragmented or poorly coordinated, outcomes worsen and health system pressures rise.
The European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) works across research, education and policy to improve health outcomes across Europe. Recent activities highlight how value-based healthcare principles can be translated into practice, and how better system design can improve care for people living with obesity.
Obesity and the Need for Integrated, Value-Based Care
Obesity exemplifies many of the challenges value-based healthcare seeks to address. Patients living with obesity often navigate disconnected disease areas and fragmented pathways, with limited continuity of care. Many health professionals receive little training on obesity, despite its high prevalence, and stigma around obesity continues to undermine communication and trust.
Obesity acts as a gateway disease, substantially increasing the risk of developing related health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Providing effective, evidence-based care can help reduce the likelihood of these complications, support people in improving their health and wellbeing, and relieve pressure on healthcare systems over time. Conversely, inaction on obesity undermines citizen health, widens health inequalities and contributes to escalating pressures on national healthcare services.
Policy frameworks also vary widely, meaning that long-term, coordinated management is not consistently supported across Member States. These barriers reinforce the need for integrated, multidisciplinary and stigma-free models of care.
World Obesity Day 2025: A Call for System Transformation
On 4th March 2025, EASO co-hosted the World Obesity Day event “Gateway to Better Health: the Case for Coordinated EU Action on Obesity” in the European Parliament. The discussions underlined the urgent need for European health systems to evolve to meet the needs of people living with obesity and other interconnected non-communicable diseases.
Speakers highlighted that obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease requiring long-term, multidisciplinary care; that siloed approaches across cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other NCDs are no longer effective; and that stigma continues to limit engagement and outcomes. Workforce development emerged as an urgent priority, with medical education often providing only limited coverage of obesity. Speakers also highlighted the broader health and economic benefits that more coordinated strategies could deliver, renewing calls for a coherent EU Action Plan on Obesity.
Overall, the event reinforced that improving obesity care is central to building more sustainable, equitable and effective health systems aligned with value-based healthcare principles.
Launch of a new EU Special Interest Group: MEPs for Action on Obesity
EASO supported the launch of the Special Interest Group “MEPs for Action on Obesity” on 4th November 2025 in the European Parliament. Co-chaired by MEP Romana Jerković and MEP Michalis Hadjipantela, the group brings together policymakers, clinicians, researchers and people living with obesity to strengthen EU-level collaboration.
The group’s priorities mirror key enabling conditions for value-based systems: improving integration across services, enhancing access to evidence-based care, reducing stigma, and supporting Member States in recognising obesity as a chronic disease. The SIG also offers a platform to share examples of effective system design, including Ireland’s HSE Model of Care and Italy’s landmark legislation integrating obesity into the National Health Service. EASO is pleased to provide secretariat support to this important initiative.
EASO’s Clinical Tools and Frameworks Supporting High-Value Care
EASO’s scientific and clinical work continues to support more consistent, high-quality care across Europe. Two recent publications in Nature Medicine provide practical tools for clinicians and health systems.
The EASO Framework for the Diagnosis, Staging and Management of Obesity offers a structured, person-centred approach to assessment and long-term management. It encourages early identification, risk-based staging and coordinated treatment planning involving multidisciplinary teams.
Complementing this, EASO’s Algorithm for the Pharmacological Treatment of Obesity And its Complications supports clear and timely treatment decisions aligned with clinical need. By reducing unwarranted variation and enabling shared decision-making, these tools contribute directly to more coherent pathways and more reliable, value-based models of care.
Looking Ahead
Obesity is a cross-cutting chronic disease that affects – and is affected by – many aspects of health systems. It provides a practical example of how person-centred, value-based principles can be applied across prevention, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management.
The next European Congress on Obesity (ECO), organised by EASO, will take place in Istanbul in 2026 and will bring together leading experts, clinicians, policymakers and patient representatives from across the globe. The meeting will provide an important platform for sharing scientific advances, best practice in obesity care, and emerging approaches aligned with value-based, people-centred health systems.
More information here.
